DMV prepares for sticker shock of losing inspection tag

In less than nine months Texas windshields are going to start looking different, and Department of Motor Vehicles officials are gearing up to avoid a sticky situation when car owners transition from having two state-required tags to one.

As of March 2015, vehicles registered in Texas will no longer need separate vehicle inspection and registration stickers. State lawmakers last year nixed the inspection sticker, citing the potential to reduce fraudulent tags.

Inspections are not going away, however. The change is simply issuing the two stickers separately, Texas DMV director Whitney Brewster told a state senate committee on Monday. Now to re-up registration, a driver must submit their car for inspection not more than 90 days before they renew.

To smooth out the transition to one sticker, someone will be able to register their car in 2015 provided their inspection is valid at the time they renew. For example, if someone’s registration expires in May and their inspection tag expires in June, they will not have to get their car tested until prior to renewing in May 2016.

If someone’s inspection sticker expires in May but their registration is up in June, they will have to get an inspection.

“This is a big impact on customers,” Brewster told state senators, citing the need for an aggressive public awareness campaign.

For the state, subtracting a sticker is expected to save about $2.1 million, Brewster said, mostly the result of streamlined paperwork and eliminating the need to buy two stickers.

Even with advanced notice, however, lawmakers said they expect some irate calls.

“We’ll be right in session and I bet we get a lot of complaints,” said Sen. Robert Nichols, R-Jacksonville, chair of the Senate Transportation Committee.